The clubs were launched in September at the Buffalo City Municipality at Orient Theatre in East London.  Attended by 550 young women from around the province, the launch kick-started participation by young women to take action to shape their lives and communities.

Young people are excited to be part of the Young Women’s Club initiative which included members from the Soul Buddyz Clubs (SBC). Soul Buddyz is a Soul City initiative aimed at 8-14 years olds in schools around the country with 8642 clubs and over 140 000 members.

Anelisa Sauli from Sisters of Strength club represented young women on the programme and she talked about how the SBC programme changed her life which motivated her to join Rise Young Women’s Club.

Young Women’s Clubs are a SCI initiative aimed at mobilising and empowering young women to participate in taking responsible action to shape their lives and the communities they live in. The clubs will focus on active participation of young women aged 15-24 years who may be in or out of schools, residing in high risk areas, particularly informal settlements. 750 young women’s clubs will be launched around the country over the next two years.